Except why would they demand to only speak to Malcolm? Well, they didn’t know Elaine so they could just be playing it safe.
He picked up the pace and focused on getting to the clinic instead of running through possibilities. It was better to just get the answer.
He bounded up the steps of the clinic and let the door slam behind him as he joined Elaine at the computer.
“They tell you who they are yet?” he asked and Elaine shook her head, handing over the microphone. “This is Malcolm Evans, go ahead.”
“Malcolm, it’s Jed, Darren’s son, from the mall in Port Meyers.”
“I remember you, Jed. What’s going on?”
He heard the click as Jed came on the line but he didn’t speak for a few moments, causing Malcolm to lean into the speakers.
“There was...an attack.” Even over the radio, Malcolm could hear the tears in the boy’s voice. “We’re in Alpena now but we can’t stay here. We need to come there.”
“Where in Alpena are you?”
“We’re in a house on Albert Street.”
Malcolm didn’t have to ask, Elaine already pulling up a map of the area and pointing out the street. They were only a couple miles from the marina.
“How many of you are there and are you guys mobile?”
“We’ve got a car.” The line was quiet for a moment. “There are only seven of us.”
Malcolm ran a hand over his face, his heart clenching at the small number. There had been nearly two hundred of them. How the hell were there only seven of them left?
There would be time later to find out what happened. Right now they needed to focus on getting to Jed.
“Okay, take down these directions to the marina,” he said and recited off what Elaine told him. “We’ll meet you there. If you have any problems, you let Elaine know and she’ll call us, okay?”
“Got it,” Jed replied, “And please hurry.”
Malcolm handed the microphone back to Elaine and was about to give her instructions but she flipped over to the shortwave.
“Banks, I need you to get Mendez and Quinton and head down to the dock. Malcolm will meet you there and fill you in on what’s going on.”
“Thanks,” Malcolm said and Elaine handed him a sat phone.
“Fully charged,” she said. “I’ll let everyone know what’s going on.”
Malcolm left her to it, knowing that she would handle everything. He had to focus on getting them ready to go over. It would still take them time to get to the marina and he just hoped that Jed would be okay until then.
He had the boat ready to go by the time Banks, Mendez and Quinton joined him at the dock.
“What’s going on?” Quinton asked as he climbed into the boat. “Banks didn’t say what was going on.”
“We got a call from Jed,” Malcolm said as Banks untied the lines and hauled them into the boat. “They’re going to meet us at the marina. He said they were attacked, that’s all I know.”
He cranked the engine and they headed out, a wide wake trailing behind them as they sped across the water. The kid had sounded terrified on the radio and he knew that if Jed was the one calling him, it meant something had happened to Darren. He wouldn’t let his son make that call if he was capable of it.
Malcolm kept them at a sharp clip and they managed to make the trip in under two hours. When they turned into the marina he spotted the red minivan next to Sam’s van.
As they docked at one of the slips, the van door opened and he watched Jed climb out. He turned and held out his hand to help Elsie out of the van, followed by Gloria and two more elderly women that he didn’t recognize. The little girl he remembered from the first time they had met Darren and Jed came around the other side of the van, holding the hand of a teenage girl.
By the time they had tied off the boat, Jed had led his group down the dock to meet them.
“Are you all okay? Anyone injured?” Malcolm asked in way of greeting.
They all shook their heads, but he wasn’t sure he believed them with the way Elsie was clinging to Jed’s arm. They all looked exhausted and he noticed dried blood splatter on the teen girl’s shirt. “You said you were attacked. What happened?”
“Last night a whole bunch of infected showed up at the fences,” Jed started. “We thought it must have just been a group passing through town but none of the scouts had called them in like they were supposed to. Then the men showed up behind them. They’d taken out our scouts and driven the infected to the fences. They had speakers on one of the trucks and told us they were looking for someone. If we them sent them out, they’d leave. If not they’d burn the place.”
Jed turned away from him as he bit down on his bottom lip and Malcolm felt for the kid. He shouldn’t have to be the one telling him this story.
“They didn’t even give us a chance to answer though. They had already put chains on the fences and pulled it down. They came into the parking lot and then fired this...I don’t know, a rocket or something at the mall. It was like a movie or something. My dad gave me the keys to the van and a radio and told me to get the women out and head here to find you. When we left, the whole place was burning, people were trying to get away but if the infected didn’t get them, the men were gunning them down.”
It wasn’t fair. They were good people, they didn’t deserve to die. Jed didn’t deserve to be left as the one in charge of these women. God, how scared he must have been trying to get them here, waiting until noon so he could radio for help.
“We can take you back to the island,” Malcolm said. “All of you will be safe there.”
Jed patted Elsie on the arm and led her over to the boat, Quinton and Banks helping her climb down. They loaded the others up, Malcolm sadly realizing that they had no other supplies, only the clothes on their backs. Thank God he had given them a way to contact him. He couldn’t imagine what would have happened if they were left out here to fend for themselves.
When they were all secure in the boat, Quinton making sure that none of them had been lying about being injured, Jed helped Malcolm untie the lines. Something bothered Malcolm and he went over Jed’s story again, realizing there was a question he hadn’t thought to ask.
“Who were they looking for? You said they were looking for someone. Do you know who it was?”
Jed gnawed at his bottom lip again, glancing over at Elsie, who was grim faced as she nodded at him.
“They were looking for you, Malcolm. The man on the speakers said his name was Jacob and he knew you were with us. He said he found the MREs on our scouts, the same he took from you. Do you know who he is?”
The ice that clenched around his heart caused his knees to buckle and he collapsed in the captain’s chair. He should have known that Jacob would come looking for revenge. He’d been a damn idiot.
The Complex was far from behind them.
To be continued in...
The Director
Book Four in The Omega Protocol Chronicles
Available in 2018
About the Author
Growing up in a tiny Canadian town, Courtney McPhail learned from an early age that her imagination was the best, and sometimes only, source of entertainment. Writing had always been something she had done for her own personal enjoyment. It wasn't until she hit the big 3-0 and went through an existential crisis that she realized writing could be a career.
She currently resides in Toronto, enjoying the big city life while still maintaining her small town girl charm. When she isn't working on her latest novel, she can be found enjoying a hike through the Don Valley Hills near her home. More recently, since discovering Netflix, she can usually be found on her couch, binging on various television shows.
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Chronicles Book 3)
The Complex (The Omega Protocol Chronicles Book 3) Page 48
